Cauvery Board alone will implement tribunal award: SC

On May 16, 2018

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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to modify its draft scheme for setting up of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) that will be the sole authority for implementing the Cauvery Water Tribunal Award.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also sought dropping of the clause which said that in case of dispute the matter would be decided by the Centre and same would be final and binding.

The Centre was also asked to drop the clause that said that the Centre would give directions from time to time to the implementing authority — a clause which was objected to by Tamil Nadu.

“This part will not be there… you make it clear,” Chief Justice Misra accepting Tamil Nadu’s objection told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, who agreed that the proposed authority will be called Cauvery Management Board.

The 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award was modified and reaffirmed by the top court by its February 16 verdict.

The court said the Centre would only be issuing administrative directions for implementing the award.

The CMB would be headquartered in Delhi while the office of the regulatory authority would be in Bengaluru.

Asking the Attorney General to come back with the modified draft, the court adjourned the matter for Thursday.

The court did not accept Karnataka’s plea for adjourning the matter till first week of July as it said it would like to offer its comments on the draft scheme that was submitted by the Centre two days ago.

Telling the court that there was no government in place to give comments on the draft scheme, senior counsel Shyam Divan told the court: “When Tamil Nadu is making suggestions, is it unreasonable for Karnataka to make comments.”